Advances in the discovery of novel antimicrobials targeting the assembly of bacterial cell division protein FtsZ

Currently, wide-spread antimicrobials resistance among bacterial pathogens continues being a dramatically increasing and serious threat to public health, and thus there is a pressing need to develop new antimicrobials to keep pace with the bacterial resistance. Filamentous temperature-sensitive protein Z (FtsZ), a prokaryotic cytoskeleton protein, plays an important role in bacterial cell division. It as a very new and promising target, garners special attention in the antibacterial research in the recent years. This review describes not only the function and dynamic behaviors of FtsZ, but also the known natural and synthetic inhibitors of FtsZ. In particular, the small molecules recently developed and the future directions of ideal candidates are highlighted.